Pedi really wanted to attend the Choi Dong-won Award ceremony.
NC Dinos Pedi appeared in the KBO League like a comet this season and literally ‘chewed up’ the league. The level was different. From his debut, batters’ bats were helpless against the sweeper he threw.
Regular season ends. Peddie’s performance was incredible. 30 games, 20 wins, 6 losses, ERA 2.00. His strikeouts were a whopping 209. After ‘national treasure’ Sun Dong-yeol, he became the first pitcher in 37 years to achieve 20 wins and 200 strikeouts at the same time. Multiple wins – earned run average – strikeouts triple crown. MVP is a given.
Of course, the winner of the Choi Dong-won Award, an honor given to the best pitcher, was also Peddie. The selection criteria for the Choi Dong-won Award are six items in total: more than 25 games as a starter, more than 180 innings, more than 12 wins, more than 150 strikeouts, more than 15 quality starts, and an ERA of 3.00 or less. Pedi met all the conditions.
However, Fedi could not attend the awards ceremony held in Busan on the 17th. NC President Lee Jin-man accepted the award on his behalf. Although the club’s CEO attended and showed courtesy, it would inevitably be disappointing if the award winner could not attend.
Peddie appeared as a starter in the KIA Tigers game held in Gwangju on the 16th. NC played its final match in Gwangju until the 17th. Although Peddie did not play on the 17th, it was difficult for the player to move outside due to receiving the award with the final match of the season remaining with 3rd place at stake. Moreover, Paddy suffered an injury after being hit on the arm by a ball while pitching the day before.
When NC’s award was confirmed in advance, NC tried to somehow coordinate his attendance at the awards ceremony. It was the first NC player to receive this award. However, at that time, it was not decided when Peddie would start as a starter during the games on the 16th and 17th. He could not give organizers a definitive answer.
It is said that Peddie was very disappointed by this. Beyond simply receiving the 20 million won prize, I seriously studied what the Choi Dong-won Award means and who the winners were. An NC official revealed the behind-the-scenes story, saying, “Pedi was curious why such a big awards ceremony was not held at the end of the season. He wanted to attend in person. He even said he would film his acceptance speech first.” He is said to have shown a sincere attitude of ‘re-spec’ing Korean baseball and the Choi Dong-won Award. It is impressive that a top-notch foreign player has not only skills but also character.메이저놀이터
The Choi Dong-won Award ceremony was held every November to commemorate the deceased’s uniform number 11. However, this year, due to various circumstances, it was moved forward to October. If the date had been set more carefully and the players had been able to attend, the event would have been even better.